After Olympic finale, Chan looks forward to time at home

GANGNEUNG, South Korea (Reuters) - Canada’s Patrick Chan walked away from his final Olympic Games on Saturday with a gold medal in the team event and ninth place in the men’s competition. Now, he just wants to spend time at home.

The three-time Olympian, who had announced he would retire after Pyeongchang, has spent his life at the rink and recently moved back to Canada from the United States to train at home for the last months of his competitive career.

“I haven’t really settled myself, I’ve never really started my life as a mid-20s adult in Canada,” Chan, 27, told Reuters after his free skate. “I look forward to just starting with that and then see where that takes me.”

Weeks before Pyeongchang, Chan made a bold coaching change and relocated to Canada, something he says helped him rekindle his passion for the sport.

Chan finished fourth at the Skate Canada grand prix event last year, realizing that only a change could put him back on track for the final part of his competitive career.

After withdrawing from a grand prix event in Japan, Chan moved to Vancouver and hired coach Ravi Walia, ending his partnership with Marina Zoueva with whom he trained in the United States.

Chan’s return to his home country had helped him fall in love with figure skating again, Walia earlier told Reuters during the Games.

On Saturday, Chan landed two triple Axels, a jump that he did not land in the short programme and that has haunted him throughout his career.